Evaluation of a Thin CaF2(Eu) Scintillator for Detecting Tritium

The primary objective of this project was to investigate the feasibility of using a CaF2(Eu) scintillator for detecting low-energy beta particles from tritium. A proof-of-principle detector was designed to flow tritium-spiked nitrogen gas across the surface of a thin scintillator, which was optically coupled between two low-noise photomultiplier tubes. Electronics for operating two photomultiplier tubes in coincidence eliminated most of the tube noise pulses and allowed detection of small pulses from the low-energy tritium beta particles.